In 7 Hours With, we explore the routines of leading professionals in their space to learn the when, why, where and how they work. In each diary, we will look at what they’re doing at seven different check-ins throughout their day.
Tisha Thompson is the CEO and founder of LYS™ Beauty with more than 15 years’ industry experience in clean beauty product development, brand management, marketing, finance and operations. February 2022 is the brand’s one-year anniversary, and they’ve already hit incredible milestones with their viral Triple Fix Serum foundation, as well as their upcoming launch on Cult Beauty. (Bonus: each product is under $30). Here’s how she spends her 7 Hours.
6:30 AM
My mornings always look a bit different, but I start each day getting my two boys ready for school, getting in a quick at-home workout, enjoying coffee and breakfast, then getting started with my work day. I’ve found that self-prioritization early in the morning helps prevent me from neglecting my health and well-being, and I’m a stronger leader because of it. I am usually awake around 6:30 AM, and get my day started then.
I began as a makeup artist, but it was extremely important to both me and my parents that I would go to college. I worked as a makeup artist to put myself through school.
After graduating from school, I took on an accountant role at PÜR cosmetics, where I would be for over 15 years in clean beauty product innovation. My love for creating products landed me a role on the brand side, where I resided as Vice President of Marketing and Innovation until 2020.
During my tenure, I wore a lot of hats, helping to innovate clean beauty product development, support brand management and marketing, and also oversee finance and operations. My most notable campaign while working at PÜR was the viral 4-in-1 Love Your Selfie™ Longwear Foundation and Concealer which launched the industry’s first 100-shade foundation range [Editor’s note: This was a major, defining moment in the industry and an incredible accomplishment].
8:30 AM
My mornings are often for making business-critical decisions and responding to timely requests. Around 7:30 or 8:30, I’ll either do a morning walk or workout (on busier days, I like to take calls while I’m out walking).
As a business owner and the only full-time employee on my team, I have my hands in every aspect of the business, so time-blocking is key for me. I allocate time each day to go over new product innovation, influencer relations, marketing campaigns, packaging, etc. in order of priority level. This allows me to focus on whatever task is in front of me with minimal distractions or hold ups.
I currently also work a hybrid schedule — in-office 3x a week, and remote 2x a week. This helps me balance my weeks and spend time at home as well as in-office, as needed.
1 PM
I usually work through lunch, but I try to eat every day around 1 PM to create structure in each day. Collaboration is important in hybrid settings, so I often enjoy taking lunch over an offsite lunch meeting or conference call to bring members of the team together.
2 PM
In the afternoons I typically I switch to my creator side, where I bulk film content and get active on our social media accounts to engage with our community. Social media is so important and it’s crucial for us to have a presence there.
I launched LYS™ beauty, which is an acronym for “Love Your Self”, to bring affordable and efficacious clean beauty products to the mainstream. I was frustrated with the gap in the beauty industry for diverse shade ranges that were good-for-your-skin and I wanted to fill that space.
Our formulas are uniquely catered to offer solutions to the most common skin concerns, like hyperpigmentation, visible signs of aging, blemishes, and enlarged pores. I’m here to change the myth that clean beauty, deep shade ranges, and high-performance products cannot coexist.
6 PM
As a founder and entrepreneur, the work truly never ends! I have a hard stop in the evenings to feed and spend time with my kids, then I often plug back in to check on outstanding items.
When I get home or after work, I generally make dinner (me and the hubby take turns cooking dinner, which I love that it doesn’t always just fall on me). Whoever is not cooking dinner helps the kids with homework, then eat, work together on their extracurriculars, then close out the night for them by 9 PM.
In the evenings, I enjoy checking back in on work and staying on top of anything I missed while I was with the kids. I’m so motivated by the impact that I have to create the change I want to see in the beauty industry — it’s by far the most rewarding part of being a founder. I am advocating on behalf of overlooked communities, building wealth opportunities for myself and my team, and creating a community of confident queens…all from the comfort of my own home.
10 PM
LYS™ Beauty is just launching in Cult Beauty, and we are excited to launch our new Triple Fix Concealer in-stores exclusively with Sephora. As with any major project, time management and delegation are key, so I work closely with my suppliers, business partners, and team to keep things progressing smoothly towards each launch.
All of this can get overwhelming, so it’s important for me to focus on self-care to help prevent burnout. I like to incorporate small efforts within every day to prioritize my mental health, like time away from my phone, working with Do Not Disturb on, going on walks, and spending quality time with my family to recharge and disconnect.
In a hybrid work environment, I’ve found that going to the office helps restore a sense of normalcy and helps separate work and home. It’s important to realize we’re all trying our best, so be kind to yourself, take time to recharge, and show yourself grace.
12 AM
I’m a night owl, so I am usually in bed by 12:30 AM, but chat with my international suppliers, as needed. My alarm is set again for 6:30 AM to get back up and start the next day off right.
